This new selection of Thoreau’s essays traces his trajectory as a writer for the outlets of his day—the periodical press, newspapers, and compendiums—and as a frequent presenter on the local lecture circuit. By arranging the writings chronologically, the volume re-creates the experience of Thoreau’s readers as they followed his developing ideas over time.

This edition offers the most accurate text available for each essay and provides convenient on-page annotations, establishing context, guiding the reader through unfamiliar allusions and references, and plumbing the depths of Thoreau’s writings with unprecedented insight.

What people are saying...

"Cramer gives historical details many will now have forgotten (if they ever knew them), and he traces allusions. . . notes correspondences between passages in the essays and in other writings. . . Cramer has done all of us a service in making these essays more accessible."—Tom Doyle, Books & Culture

"Henry Thoreau is one of those figures so towering, so encrusted with legend, so overly familiar, that we must rediscover him to see him at all. This well-conceived selection of 15 of his essays—the latest in a series of annotated Thoreau volumes from Yale—is an invitation to do just that."—John Wilson, Christianity Today

"Cramer presents Thoreau as an integrative thinker deeply engaged in subjects at once political, natural-historical, literary, and personal."—Rochelle Johnson, Review19“Thoreau scholar Cramer. . . opens this exceptional volume of [Thoreau's] most widely read essays with his informative introduction that frames the writing and personality of the writer. . . Cramer's anecdotes from the introduction enhance the allure of the essays, and his accompanying annotations add a layer of clarity. . . Both Thoreau aficionados and the casual reader will benefit from reading this superb and comprehensive work. Highly recommended. . ."— Library Journal​"In all things this volume finds the perfect balance. It’s certainly the finest edition of Thoreau’s essays ever publicly printed."—Steve Donoghue, Open Letters Monthly

"The volume contains annotations not found elsewhere."—Todd Richardson, Choice